If you scroll through any of your social media feeds at this time of year, you'll notice that the beach pictures are slowly waning. In their place, the back-to-school photos have emerged. More parents are getting signs for the kids to hold in pictures commemorating yet another childhood milestone. It's fun for everyone to update friends and family on how their kids have grown. Parents also can't help but be proud of where their kids are at in their academic journey. The Village on the Park senior living facility in Oklahoma City saw how fun the practice is and decided to re-create it with some special seniors in 2019.
"Everyone is posting 'First Day of School' pictures and Village on the Park wanted to be part of the fun! These beautiful 'Seniors' are living their BEST life and we can learn from their wisdom every day!!" staff wrote on the facility's Facebook post. Included with the post were photos of all the residents sharing special information about them on first-day-of-school-style signs.
It's back-to-school season, and parents are sharing pictures of their kids as they embark on a new school year. In these adorable photos, the kids are usually holding signs that describe what age they are, what grade they're starting, and what they're excited about in the upcoming year.
It's a lot of fun to see what your family's and friends' kids are up to. It can be especially nice when the posts are by people whose kids you don't often see. It's just another reminder of how quickly time flies and how fast children grow.
A senior living facility called Village on the Park in Oklahoma City decided to get in on the fun. Staff created similar signs for the seniors in their independent retirement homes and assisted-living center to pose for pictures with.
The results were incredible. The signs say "First Day of the Rest of My Life" and include each resident's age, graduation year, and goal for the year. The prompts were perfect for some candid answers from the seniors.
"Everyone is posting 'First Day of School' pictures and Village on the Park wanted to be part of the fun!" said the post on Facebook. "These beautiful 'Seniors' are living their BEST life and we can learn from their wisdom everyday!!"
Some of the goals were sadly sweet. There were residents who wanted to do things like improve their health, see more of their families, and recover from injuries and illness. They remind us just how fragile life can be.
It was really uplifting to see how many of these people wanted to improve themselves, from "being a blessing to others" to "to smile and do the best that I can!" It goes to show that there really and truly is always room to improve.
The answers to the prompts varied greatly. It was really interesting to see how the lives of different people have unfolded, what their hopes are for the future, and how, if only for now, they ended up in the same place.
It's really inspiring to see how full of life these senior citizens are. As their photos circulated online, many people reached out to Village on the Park to find out how they can help make some of these seniors' wishes for the year come true.
The facility has already put things in motion to make some of these wishes come true, as shared in the post's comments section. "We are in the process to coordinating a horseback ride for Leon, a picnic for Glendora and many more exciting things!"
"We would love for all of you to see pictures and updates on those things and also get to see all of the other fun we have around here!! :)," staff encouraged. They also made a Facebook group for those who would like to write to residents.
People in the comments were truly inspired. Not only did many of them want to write or send gifts to the residents, but some people in the area even discussed going to visit them. Either activity is sure to brighten the seniors' days.
Just over 50 seniors participated in the photo shoot. Many of the commenters remarked on how good they looked. They all seemed happy to be photographed and to discuss their experiences, which earned Village on the Park a lot of praise for its hard work.
The seniors very well may have the kiddos beat on this viral trend. It's fascinating to see just how much you can learn about people with a few simple questions. The photos are also a special and important reminder to appreciate the senior citizens in our lives.
